Eye on your Health

January 2004

Glaucoma is the second most common cause of blindness in the U.S.

Approximately 2.2 million Americans age forty and older have glaucoma and half are at risk of going blind because they do not know they have the disease. You could be one of them.

Glaucoma is a condition in which the optic nerve, responsible for transmitting visual information from the eye to the brain, is damaged. It can be associated with elevated pressure inside the eye and can lead to vision loss. It may begin with the loss of peripheral vision and then advance to a reduction in central vision. Glaucoma can potentially lead to blindness.

Although glaucoma cannot be cured, early detection and treatment can usually preserve vision. Your doctor can help control glaucoma by lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) with eye drops, laser treatments or surgery. However, vision loss due to glaucoma cannot be restored and if left untreated, glaucoma can lead to blindness.

The exact cause of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), the most common form of the disease, is uncertain. However, some other forms of glaucoma may occur in conjunction with other abnormalities of the eye.

There are usually no symptoms at first, but as the disease progresses, a person with glaucoma may notice his or her vision gradually failing with:

• Blurred vision
  
• Loss of peripheral vision
  
• Difficulty focusing on objects
  
• Presence of halos around lights

Although anyone can develop glaucoma, those at higher risk and should have an eye exam at least every one to two years include:

• African Americans over age 40
  
• Individuals over age 60
  
• People with a family history of glaucoma
  
• Individuals that have experienced a serious eye injury
  
• People with other health conditions, such as diabetes (exam every year)

A message from our Glaucoma Specialist,
Jorge J. Rivera, MD:

"Blindness from Glaucoma is preventable. This prevention requires early detection and proper treatment."